Author and outspoken atheist, Richard Dawkins, has teamed with Christopher Hitchens and a group of lawyers who are determined to chargePope Benedict XVI with crimes against humanity for his compliance in covering up sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church!

He says:

"This is a man whose first instinct when his priests are caught with their pants down is to cover up the scandal and damn the young victims to silence."

So true. Absolutely disgusting.

He and his team believe that Benedict will not be able to use diplomatic immunity because he is not actually a head of state, at least by United Nations standards.

Wow. It will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out.

What do U think?? Should the Pope face charges because of his past actions??

Very Dark Ages. His Holiness has a thousand year old castle next door to retreat to if the peasants get angry. Will Respected Counsel push the Holy See into a Plea Deal where The Church eliminates celibacy?

I'm certainly not going to defend the Church for its miss-handling of the abuse crisis. But these atheists are dirtbags in their own right. Looking for a bit of publicity and a platform from which to shout their own brand of stupidity.

I'd be curious to see if these courageous souls would do the same thing to muslim imams. I'd like to see them try and arrest Yusuf Qaradawi, the highly popular islamic imam who spouts hate and has lectured approving on suicide bombings, stoning women and killing gays– and has frequently been the revered guest of the British government.

Yes, he is nothing short of a criminal. How can this "man of God" sit on his golden throne while people strave and die? Plus he turns a blind eye and protects abusers. All of these guys should be vilified for the demons they truly are. stop preying on the weak and stop supporting these demagogs!

That is so annoying. I think it is so disrespectful to try to convict the Pope. It's disrespectful to the Church. No one tries to charge anyone in the Middle East who allow rape and child marriages. If you are going to attack a faith, don't just put the blame on one, let's look at all of them. Just sayingg…

It is so sad that some people are still prejudice about other people's faith. Didn't you learn anything at all from the Holocaust? Pay attention to what you are doing! You are attacking someone's faith. If you don't censor your words, it will be you who we read about in history books who did nothing (and maybe even started) while people throw hateful words and actions to someone's faith.

it's a crime not to report child abuse. that applies to us 'civilians.' why in the world should it be ok for the pope to sit by and do nothing? i've been waiting for this for years, especially for ratzinger (i refuse to call anyone 'pope') because he was actually the architect of the church's policy on child abuse. he's in this up to his eyeballs. i hope the papal feet are held to the fire. it's about time the thousands (millions??) of abused children had a voice.

If this is true, then Mr. Dawkins is not an atheist. He deeply cares for God and believers, specially Catholics. It´s nice to see how faith will make a man go through great efforts to clean the Holy Church of any spot of suspicion. God bless him and his endeavors so that he can bring justice to the victims he represents and may He give this man enough resources to help them reconstruct their lives. As a Catholic, I want to see my beloved Church free of criminals. I was lucky. I always found love, encouragement and wisdom in the words of the priests and nuns who helped my parents raise me and this should be the experience that all children of our Church have during their formative years.

The Catholic church has always confused me. There is a commandment that states you shall have no idols or false gods, yet this is a church with an individual who has had bestowed upon him an "honor" basically saying that he is the end-all-be-all of the entire religion?!?!?!?! It's hypocrisy at it's best. If he is not a "false god" I don't know what is…and since he is the leader of the church-essentially the CEO and responsible for his "company's" actions, he should be charged.

Let's face it. Nothing is going to come of this scandal because the Catholic Church is much too rich and powerful. They are pretty much their own society and live above the law. Seriously, nothing more will come of it all than a slap on the Church's wrist.

And maybe, after his crusade, dear Mr. Dawkins should do something to help Yemen child brides, Filipino sex slaves, African children suffering ritual cuttings and the underage girls of Juarez who keep disappearing to this day…AND JOIN PETA, he is self righteous enough.

Absolutely! Enough evidence right? "PAST actions?" What is he doing about it now to make it stop?
Something has to give! Something drastic has to happen or it will continue!
Covering up and ignoring the fact that children are RAPED and ABUSED and TORTURED is almost as vile as the act itself!
This whole thing makes me physically ill.

Re: eaa107 – you have to start somewhere. This is a start. So in your mind, the crimes of this man by allowing young innocents to be molested should be ignored because other religions are not being tried at this time? Pure ignorance at it's best.

2% of sex offenders are Catholic priests. And they make up about 1% of all Catholic priests. When do you speak a word of the other 98%? You are persecuting the minority. Aren't u against doing that? If you're going to report facts, do it. 90% of the abusers were male; the majority of these were homosexual males.

46% of all sex abusers are reoffenders. If we want to change things for the better, we should focus more on effective rehabilitation and/ or a stricter justice system against perpetrators of these crimes. Otherwise you're just smacking your gums at a feeding frenzy of the mainstream media's selective reporting.

Re: eaa107 – ummmm 'censor words'… how about censor cocks in kids. sad, so sad, you much be dumb to think this way. go ahead, defend your 'church'. kids who are RAPED are destroyed by adults. i hope you never have to contend with a child who is destroyed by a pedophile. sad, sad, stupid, tea bagger…

HELL YES is the answer!!! I went to Catholic school for 9 years and it was HORRIBLE! The priests were molesting certain boys and instead of them being thrown in JAIL where they belong, they were taken out in the middle of the night and sent to another church far away to start the sick fucking process all over again! They all DESERVE to pay for fucking up so many people's lives…it's a NO BRAINER!!!!!!!!!!

Re: eaa107 – Believe me- I'm not!
I have Catholic friends and co-workers and have known Catholics who do nothing but good for other people-give their lives to global humanitarian charity work. I have some understanding of the faith of religion and why people need it in their lives. I don't hate or judge.
Doesn't stop the fact that this goes on. Something has to stop it!
I'm not religious at all but find fascinating and respect the beliefs of others- up to the point those beliefs hurt people. The atrocities against children at the hands of the Catholic church is at that point-don't you think?

Re: umnobutnicetry – I call BULLSHIT on your statistics honey…MANY cases are never reported…I went to school with SEVERAL boys who were molested and that was 30 years ago…it is still happening more than you or I care to admit

Prosecute the priests who ARE guilty of actually doing the deeds via criminal process in whatever country they're in. How come the victims are NOT doing that on their own? If you really want revenge & want to accuse your abuser, then do it using the standard legal avenues that everyone else has to go through.

look people, this is about "offending anyone's faith" here! FAITH HAS NOTHING to do with sexually abusing young children! Come on! This is about justice for the children and if the Pope and all the other priests have to fall because of their crimes, then so be it.

YES! Anyone that was involved with covering all of these cases should be prosecuted! I never understood why the government never took control of these cases-it was like they were scared of the backlash,citing separation of church and state. EXACTLY!! That means that if a priest does something to a kid,the government NEEDS to intervene and correct what is wrong! It doesn't mean that all clergy are exempt from charges!

LISTEN TO YOURSELF. Should Roman Polanski face charges because of his past actions ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????///

That bitch Hitchens was all for the war in Iraq (how many people died there?) and now he's just seeking publicity for some book he's about to release. A stroke would be the most appropriate thing that could happen to this opportunist. And the professional atheist Dawkins is just deranged.

Absolutley they should be charged to the full extent of the Law!
It's total Bull $hit how they use hide behind a religion to break the law and harm children!
If you break the law in a country you should be banned from practice in that country.
Switzerland had the right Idea years ago. Ban all catholic churchs in Switzerland.

Re: HungUpBoyToy – DARLING THE MORONS, ERM MORMONS, ARE BEYOND DELUSIONAL–THE SONS OF BITCHES FOUNDER WAS SPOKEN TO BY A, GET THIS, MAGICAL SALAMANDER AND THEY BELIEVE EDEN WAS IN FRICKIN' MISSOURI!!! MISSOURI MIND YOU!!! I MEAN GET REAL!!!

The pope should be arrested the whole church should be leveled.
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Did any one see today: "Vatican #2 Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, blames gays for the priest pedophiles.. Despite the fact that 55% of church rape victims are male and 45% female…
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THE CHURCH IS EVIL AND SO IS ANYONE WHO REMAINS A PART OF IT!
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TO THE DEFENDERS:
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I do wonder if you would still remain a part of the church had it been your child that was raped and abused ? If your church knew about it and allowed it to continue ? Would you remain ? SOME DO!
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If you would, I'd say how could you and if you wouldn't I'd say WHY do these PEOPLE deserve any less from you ?
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You are the Precious Blood that beats through the heart of the evil beast!
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It can not live but for you and those of like mind!
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80% of sexual abuse victims never report there abuse!
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This pope is friggen scary looking. I really liked Pope John Paul II, but it is most likely that he was hiding abuse too. It is disgusting how they will accept and cover up sexual abuse, but they think that homosexuality is wrong.

There is a movie based on a sexual abuse scandal at the Mount Cashal Ophanage in Newfoundland if anyone is interested in watching. It is called 'The Boys of St. Vincent" and you can watch it on youtube. Disgusting what went on there.

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END RELIGION SAVE THE WORLD!
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WITHOUT RELIGION YOU ARE ALL JUST BIGOTS WITH NOTHING TO HIDE BEHIND!
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WITHOUT RELIGION ITS JUST A BUNCH OF DIRTY CHILD RAPING MEN WEARING ROBES… WHO WILL PAY FOR THESE DIRTY ASSHOLES TO LIVE IF YOU DON'T
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WITHOUT RELIGION ITS JUST A BUNCH OF CRAZY PEOPLE PREACHING THE OVER POPULATION OF THE EARTH.. WHICH IF FOLLOWED BY EVERYONE WILL LEAD TO THE END OF MANKIND!
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WITHOUT RELIGION ITS JUST A MEN ONLY CLUB (WITH MEN AND WOMEN FOLLOWS) TELLING WOMEN HOW AND WHAT THEY CAN AND CANT DO WITH THERE OWN BODIES.
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WITHOUT RELIGION ITS JUST A BUNCH OF CRAZY FOLKS WHO HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE.
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BEING GAY, STRAIGHT OR BI , HURTS NO ONE!
BEING RELIGIOUS HURTS ALL OF MANKIND!
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END RELIGION SAVE THE WORLD!
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The Pope is HUMAN just like the rest of us and he should pay for what he's done. I don't know or care who decided he was the holiest man in the world, I don't buy it! THIS MAN WAS A HITLER YOUTH, and clearly living up in his ivory towers has completely cut him off from real people and real suffering. He would rather save face for the church than protect the most innocent members of society!! He'd rather emotionally and physically destroy children than risk the Church being seen a bad light. It's sick and wrong and I do not care if you are religious or not, this type of behavior is not ok! The Pope might not have directly molested these children, but by covering it up he is just as responsible for their suffering. I am not sure Jesus would have approved of what the church has become. Jesus used to spread the word of god on foot, in rags, on the street with the sick and poor. He used to feed the hungry and save children with his OWN HANDS!…Jesus didn't sit in a gilded palace, wearing silk robes, cut off from humanity and deciding what acts would make himself look better in the eyes of the people…The Church is the biggest lie in history that knows NOTHING of what Jesus would have wanted.

I'd like nothing better than to see the pope in jail. But it's not going to happen. I admire both Hitchens and Dawkins, but I'll be shocked if they can bring down the King of Pedophiles.
I just can't believe that 2 authors can succeed in making the powerful, evil creeper pay for his crimes.

1. To deflect the argument in this way is just pathetic. Do the abuses against women and children in Yemen make it okay for the Catholic Church to shuffle child rapists around parishes, or make for the Church to coerce victims into signing agreements saying they will never tell the authorities? Yeah, I thought so.

2. Dawkins, Hitchens, et all speak out against child marriage, burqas, Muslims imams, and sexual slavery all the freaking time. Just because you don't pay attention to them when they do, or it doesn't make headlines, doesn't mean they aren't speaking out. Look at any Muslim apologist website and you'll find Dawkins on the enemies list. And next time, try using Google before falsely accusing someone of being silent on an issue.

Any Catholics who are sick of the Church putting its own wealth and power ahead of the well-being of children, the process of officially renouncing the Catholic Church is called "Actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia Catholica". I highly recommend looking this up and renouncing the Church. Let Ratzi and his bishops know they can't count on Catholic complacency to get away with these CRIMES. If your god is real and worth worshiping, he won't punish you for abandoning such a corrupt organization. Leave the Catholic Church. Leave it now.

Yes he should, it's disgusting what the catholic church has been getting away with for centuries,, Stop the maddness, because if not, this will go on and on, and more children will be the ones that suffer.. Shameful

Re: Yellow Peeps –
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Legally they are right the Vatican is not a nation of the UN so he can be arrested but the The UK government would have to consent for anything real to come of what they plan… With the upcoming general election in the UK it would be a vote winner!
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ok this is the last time i'll comment this. I just wanted to make this clear that i forgot to mention: I am not trying to defend the pope, just the faith!! The guy may be innocent or not and OF COURSE I LOOK DOWN UPON PEDOPHILES! I was just saying that they SHOULD also try to fix child marraiges..

p.s. the comment about people being hateful was directed to the person who said something about "down with the catholic church!" or something along those lines.

everyone is entitled to their own opinions so i'm not going to try to change your mind, I was just defending my faith and also trying to spark some ideas in other people's minds.

I don't care if you agree or disagree and I don't care what you think of my opinion. For the record, I do respect your opinions (except when they are hateful).

He needs to answer to his crimes! and the F&%$tards who stand behind him throwing up "laws" to protect him need to stop and really imagine what actually happened to the thousands of children that were raped, really picture it! and if they still support him than they should burn as well!

How is there even a question? Of course the Pope should be charged!
Unfortunately, despite the fact that the Pope is not a Head of State, I doubt it'll happen. He's completely above the law. The church is completely above the law. Anybody who has actually done any research into the church, the vatican, etc. will know this. I figure, the only way to deal with this is to kill all of these people, but that would be hard, too. They're under the protection of the Mafia. Seriously.
Research, people. Do research.

This whole thing just illustrates what a joke organized religion can be. Under the guise of "holiness" there is a lot of uncouth behavior going on in the Catholic Church(and all religions to some extent).
So many Catholics are hypocritical. While they are praising their almighty Pope and religion, there is a whole lot of shadiness going on beyond the Church's facade. Many of the so called holy men of cloth are pedophiles and or homsexuals. I am sure there are many priests that do go into organized religion to be a man of God, but I would say the majority do not, and go into the Catholic Church in order to lead a certain lifestyle freely without any sanctions placed on them.
This Pope is a prime example of the hypocricy that goes on. By not saying anything about this issue, the Pope is condoning this behavior. What a joke!

Re: Failkips –
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Yeah its sick.. The fact that the Vatican only exists because Mussolini made a truce with the Vatican… In exchange Pope Pius XII and the Church's actions during the Holocaust were beyond reprehensible…. They admited to some of it and apologized years later… For much of the war, he maintained a public front of indifference and remained silent while German atrocities were committed. He refused pleas for help on the grounds of neutrality and the church actively turned over Jews to the Nazi's.
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After giving a less than honest apology they then apoint this monster pope
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Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger)
Joseph Ratzinger was a member of the Nazi youth… He lived with his family in Traunstein, Germany, a small and staunchly Catholic town between Munich and Salzburg. During World War I there was a prisoner-of-war camp located in the town not far from Ratzinger….. He knew the horrors the whole town did. While others choose to be conscientious objectors and be jailed rather then harm innocents the man that is now Pope joined the Hitler youth and participated in vile acts.
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Its EVIL!

The best we can hope for is that he'll cancel his visit, which would be a result as it's costing us tax payers a fortune to protect the frocked one from ourselves…it seems we're all a danger to him so he needs extra protection. I thought Henry VIII would've offended them enough, I mean he destroyed all of their temples, looted the gold and melted it down to make a hat. They we mad at us for a while but as soon as Henry VIII popped his clogs they started worming their way back over here. We don't need it.